Month: February 2016

There were SO many outstanding floats in the 2016 Grand Parade! We want to know which floats you thought stood out the most. Cast your vote for your favorite! Below you can find images of some of these great entries as a reminder.

Please be advised that the applications the office has received are listed below. If you do not see your organization listed (some of them are listed by entry title), we did not receive your application. You can still submit an application to us no later than Friday, February 12th.

Where Do You Stage?
Please locate your staging location from the map below. Your staging area is dependent on the category your entry belongs to (ie: strollers, wagons, walking groups)

Floats must be in between 10am and 12pm.

All participants must be in their staging area no later than 1:30pm.

Parade begins at 2:30.

Miss Monday’s Parade meetings?
Join us for a live Periscope meeting during lunch (beginning at noon!) to go over any questions that you may have. In order to get the notification that our meeting has gone live, you must be following us on Twitter @Edisonfestival. A link will post automatically inviting you to join the conversation where you’ll be able to type your questions to us from any mobile or tablet device–so you can be on the go and still tune in!

Join us for a FREE day of fun with activities located inside of Harborside and outside across the street in Centennial Park. Several schools will also be selling food to help raise funds for their programs.

Saturday, February 13th from 1:30pm to 4:30pm – Mutt Strutt
Mutt Strutt is behind held in conjunction with the first ever Edison Festival of Light Food Truck & Craft Beer event. Grab your hounds and their finest costumes to parade around Downtown Fort Myers for the chance to win trophies and prizes! This event is free to attend.

Saturday, February 13th from 3pm-7pm – Food Trucks & Craft Beer
Join us for the first ever Edison Festival of Light Food Trucks & Craft Beer event! Attendees will experience mouth watering cuisine by some of the most creative food trucks with different craft beers available from our friends at Budweiser!

The Junior Fun Run is $5 and participants receive a t-shirt and ribbon (while supplies last). You can print your application at http://edisonfestival.org/applications/

The parade is always a fun experience for families and people of all ages and features marching bands, local businesses, scouting troops, floats, clowns, and dignitaries from throughout Southwest Florida.

The Coronation & Awards will be taking place right after the parade ends at Harborside Event Center.

The Edison Festival of Light is extremely excited to announce the 2016 Grand Marshal. Each year a special individual that has ties to the Southwest Florida area is invited to participate in the festivities, and this year Ricky Manning from season 7 of The Voice will be our Grand Marshal.

Ricky will also be performing on stage at 3pm prior to riding in the Grand Parade (the parade starts at 7pm and is FREE to attend). Tickets are not needed for the events.

The stage is located along Edwards Drive across from Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers. We recommend parking in the parking garage that is located behind Harborside. You can find the entrance along Monroe. The garage will have a flat rate for the date no matter how many hours you are parked. Feel free to use the below map as a guide.

Fort Myers, Florida, February 2 – The Edison Festival of Light Committee and program sponsor Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice & Purtz are proud to announce Deputy Mike Zazwirsky as the Honorary Grand Marshal of the Grand Parade of Light set to take place on February 20th.

Nominations were submitted by community members wishing to recognize exemplary altruistic individuals. The Rotary Club of Fort Myers nominated Deputy Zazwirsky. Finalists included Deputy Zazwirsky, Take Stock in Children Mentor of the Year Gary Avin, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Board member Ben Simmons. The public placed online votes to determine the Honorary Grand Marshal.

Zazwirsky is a 12 year veteran of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office currently assigned in the North District of Lee County. Throughout his professional career and his personal life, Deputy Zazwirsky has been serving those in the community. One example of his dedication is his effort to coordinate a holiday food drive that resulted in food for nearly 3,000 families! “Deputy Zazwirsky truly demonstrates what our profession is all about,” stated Sheriff Mike Scott. “Not only has he done wonderful things for the community when it comes to feeding the hungry. He also developed a juvenile arrest monitoring system that is being modeled throughout our agency.”

As Honorary Grand Marshal, Deputy Zazwirsky will be spotlighted in the Edison Festival of Light Grand Parade. In addition, Goldstein, Buckley, Cechman, Rice & Purtz will make a contribution to a charity of Zazwirsky’s choice.

The Grand Parade of Light is a two-hour extravaganza featuring national & local marching bands, unique floats and giant balloons, local government and law enforcement officials and more. The parade, which has gained recognition as the largest night parade in the south east, brings the entire community out in celebration of the life and achievements of winter resident, Thomas Edison. This event is FREE to the public and will take place on February 20th beginning at Fort Myers High School at 7:00 pm and concluding in the downtown River District. A Grand Parade Party and concert on the river with live entertainment the day of the parade is also FREE to the public! The fun begins at 11am!